Space Oddity
by Hawki
Summary: Infinite Warfare Oneshot: "With all due respect to David Bowie and Major Tom. Sincerely, the author."
_A/N_

 _So,_ Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare _'s been revealed and...yeah. While I'm a sucker for sci-fi, I can't help but remember the phrase "once a series goes into space, anything else feels like a step back."_

 _Anyway, drabbled this up._

 _Update (27/05/16): Corrected spelling errors._

* * *

 **Space Oddity**

"Ground Control to Captain Reyes?"

I do not answer. Silence is the nature of space; silence is in my nature now. And yet, I take my protein pills and put my helmet on.

"Ground Control to Captain Reyes?"

'Ground Control.' How quaint. How easy it is to remain calm when the entire world is burning.

"Ground Control to Captain Reyes?"

I get into the Jackal. Named after a dog of Earth, now manned by a dog of war, fighting the wolves that have emerged from the stars. I begin firing the ship up.

"Commencing countdown," I say. "Engines on."

"Check ignition?"

"Checked."

"May God's love be with you."

I wince at that. 'God's love.' I remember how centuries ago, before the nations of the world came together, that they would make war on one another, claiming that God was on their side. I wonder now, after we have conquered Heaven, if anyone in the UNSA believes in the Almighty. Or whether the SDF does either. Does God lie amongst the stars? Or is Nietzsche validated?

"Ten," Ground Control says. "Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, liftoff."

It's not really a liftoff, but rather the Jackal being sent out of the _Retribution_ 's hangar at a speed that wouldn't be obtainable within atmosphere. Not sure why "liftoff" was the word used. Some habits never die. Like the desire within every human being to kill other human beings.

So the battle is joined, in space, in Heaven, as it is down below, a world no longer Eden, but burning in hellfire. I dance and kill in this deadly ballet. Numerous suns fill the sky. The moon shines brighter than ever before. And I am left to wonder, and reflect. Wonder why I am here.

 _You've really made the grade._

That's what they said to me when I was given the rank of captain. I wonder now if-

 _The papers want to know whose shirts you wear._

That, I never understood. But-

"This is Ground Control to Captain Reyes."

I-

...I'm hit.

There's no sound. No 'bang,' no 'blast,' no nothing. Just the sense of my Jackal spinning out of control. Fated to hurl me into the dark of space, or to burn up in the atmosphere of the world below.

"Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare."

Well, Ground Control's being calm about their star captain hurtling through space at a million miles per hour. All I can do is engage in a space walk, drift to a friendly capital ship, and hope that I don't get splattered along the way.

"This is Captain Reyes to Ground Control," I say. "I'm stepping through the door." I activate my suit's thrusters and exit the Jackal's cockpit, before it silently explodes in the airless void. "And I'm floating in a most peculiar way."

More detonations fill the airless sky.

 _And the stars look very different today._

I hear nothing from Ground Control. I hear nothing outside radio chatter that fills the airwaves. The SDF is winning, and we're losing. That's all there is to it. I try to adjust my trajectory to the _Vigilance_ , but it'll be a miracle if I make it. Even if a projectile doesn't kill me, space likely will. Lack of air, lack of fuel, etc. And if I _do_ make it to the ship, that ship is moving at dozens of kilometres per second. Not easy, let me tell you. I stretch, and feel how cramped this suit is. I want to open it up, to breathe. Or to die. For here am I, sitting in a tin can, far above the world. Planet Earth is blue, and there's nothing I can do.

I run a check through my HUD to gauge the distance between me and the _Vigilance_. I'm past one-hundred miles. I'm feeling very still. Looking at the _Retribution_ veer off course to avoid an SDF frigate, I think my ship knows where to go – the hell out of dodge.

"This is Captain Reyes to Ground Control," I say. "Tell my wife I love her very much."

She knows. But-

"Ground Control to Captain Reyes," a voice crackles over the radio. "Your circuit's dead, there's something wrong."

 _No shit jackass. The world's burning, our fleet's burning, and I'm going to die one way or another within the next few hours._

"Can you hear me Captain Reyes?"

I don't answer.

"Can you hear me Captain Reyes?"

I can't answer.

"Can you hear me Captain Reyes?"

What is there left to say? What could I possibly say now, at the end of all things?

For here I am, floating round my tin can, far above the moon. Planet Earth is blue.

And there's nothing I can do.


End file.
